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Kim EJ, Kim JJ. Neurocognitive effects of stress: a metaparadigm perspective. Mol Psychiatry 2023; 28:2750-2763. [PMID: 36759545 PMCID: PMC9909677 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-023-01986-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Stressful experiences, both physical and psychological, that are overwhelming (i.e., inescapable and unpredictable), can measurably affect subsequent neuronal properties and cognitive functioning of the hippocampus. At the cellular level, stress has been shown to alter hippocampal synaptic plasticity, spike and local field potential activity, dendritic morphology, neurogenesis, and neurodegeneration. At the behavioral level, stress has been found to impair learning and memory for declarative (or explicit) tasks that are based on cognition, such as verbal recall memory in humans and spatial memory in rodents, while facilitating those that are based on emotion, such as differential fear conditioning in humans and contextual fear conditioning in rodents. These vertically related alterations in the hippocampus, procedurally observed after subjects have undergone stress, are generally believed to be mediated by recurrently elevated circulating hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis effector hormones, glucocorticoids, directly acting on hippocampal neurons densely populated with corticosteroid receptors. The main purposes of this review are to (i) provide a synopsis of the neurocognitive effects of stress in a historical context that led to the contemporary HPA axis dogma of basic and translational stress research, (ii) critically reappraise the necessity and sufficiency of the glucocorticoid hypothesis of stress, and (iii) suggest an alternative metaparadigm approach to monitor and manipulate the progression of stress effects at the neural coding level. Real-time analyses can reveal neural activity markers of stress in the hippocampus that can be used to extrapolate neurocognitive effects across a range of stress paradigms (i.e., resolve scaling and dichotomous memory effects issues) and understand individual differences, thereby providing a novel neurophysiological scaffold for advancing future stress research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Joo Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, 02841, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeansok J Kim
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
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2
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Daskalakis NP, Meijer OC, Ronald de Kloet E. Mineralocorticoid receptor and glucocorticoid receptor work alone and together in cell-type-specific manner: Implications for resilience prediction and targeted therapy. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 18:100455. [PMID: 35601687 PMCID: PMC9118500 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
‘You can't roll the clock back and reverse the effects of experiences' Bruce McEwen used to say when explaining how allostasis labels the adaptive process. Here we will for once roll the clock back to the times that the science of the glucocorticoid hormone was honored with a Nobel prize and highlight the discovery of their receptors in the hippocampus as inroad to its current status as master regulator in control of stress coping and adaptation. Glucocorticoids operate in concert with numerous neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and other hormones with the aim to facilitate processing of information in the neurocircuitry of stress, from anticipation and perception of a novel experience to behavioral adaptation and memory storage. This action, exerted by the glucocorticoids, is guided by two complementary receptor systems, mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR), that need to be balanced for a healthy stress response pattern. Here we discuss the cellular, neuroendocrine, and behavioral studies underlying the MR:GR balance concept, highlight the relevance of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) -axis patterns and note the limited understanding yet of sexual dimorphism in glucocorticoid actions. We conclude with the prospect that (i) genetically and epigenetically regulated receptor variants dictate cell-type-specific transcriptome signatures of stress-related neuropsychiatric symptoms and (ii) selective receptor modulators are becoming available for more targeted treatment. These two new developments may help to ‘restart the clock’ with the prospect to support resilience.
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3
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Abstract
Treatment for critical illness typically focuses on a patient's short-term physical recovery; however, recent work has broadened our understanding of the long-term implications of illness and treatment strategies. In particular, survivors of critical illness have significantly elevated risk of developing lasting cognitive impairment and psychiatric disorders. In this review, we examine the role of endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoids in neuropsychiatric outcomes following critical illness. Illness is marked by acute elevation of free cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone suppression, which typically normalize after recovery; however, prolonged dysregulation can sometimes occur. High glucocorticoid levels can cause lasting alterations to the plasticity and structural integrity of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and this mechanism may plausibly contribute to impaired memory and cognition in critical illness survivors, though specific evidence is lacking. Glucocorticoids may also exacerbate inflammation-associated neural damage. Conversely, current evidence indicates that glucocorticoids during illness may protect against the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. We propose future directions for research in this field, including determining the role of persistent glucocorticoid elevations after illness in neuropsychiatric outcomes, the role of systemic vs neuroinflammation, and probing unexplored lines of investigation on the role of mineralocorticoid receptors and the gut-brain axis. Progress toward personalized medicine in this area has the potential to produce tangible improvements to the lives patients after a critical illness, including Coronavirus Disease 2019.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice R Hill
- Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Joanna L Spencer-Segal
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- Deparment of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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4
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HUZARD D, RAPPENEAU V, MEIJER OC, TOUMA C, ARANGO-LIEVANO M, GARABEDIAN MJ, JEANNETEAU F. Experience and activity-dependent control of glucocorticoid receptors during the stress response in large-scale brain networks. Stress 2021; 24:130-153. [PMID: 32755268 PMCID: PMC7907260 DOI: 10.1080/10253890.2020.1806226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity of actions of the glucocorticoid stress hormones among individuals and within organs, tissues and cells is shaped by age, gender, genetics, metabolism, and the quantity of exposure. However, such factors cannot explain the heterogeneity of responses in the brain within cells of the same lineage, or similar tissue environment, or in the same individual. Here, we argue that the stress response is continuously updated by synchronized neural activity on large-scale brain networks. This occurs at the molecular, cellular and behavioral levels by crosstalk communication between activity-dependent and glucocorticoid signaling pathways, which updates the diversity of responses based on prior experience. Such a Bayesian process determines adaptation to the demands of the body and external world. We propose a framework for understanding how the diversity of glucocorticoid actions throughout brain networks is essential for supporting optimal health, while its disruption may contribute to the pathophysiology of stress-related disorders, such as major depression, and resistance to therapeutic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien HUZARD
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier, France
| | - Virginie RAPPENEAU
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Onno C. MEIJER
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Chadi TOUMA
- Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Margarita ARANGO-LIEVANO
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier, France
| | | | - Freddy JEANNETEAU
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier, France
- Corresponding author:
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5
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Stress-induced plasticity and functioning of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:48-77. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Revised: 09/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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6
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Broncel A, Bocian R, Kłos-Wojtczak P, Konopacki J. Hippocampal theta rhythm induced by vagal nerve stimulation: The effect of modulation of electrical coupling. Brain Res Bull 2019; 152:236-245. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2019.07.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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7
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van Weert LTCM, Buurstede JC, Sips HCM, Vettorazzi S, Mol IM, Hartmann J, Prekovic S, Zwart W, Schmidt MV, Roozendaal B, Tuckermann JP, Sarabdjitsingh RA, Meijer OC. Identification of mineralocorticoid receptor target genes in the mouse hippocampus. J Neuroendocrinol 2019; 31:e12735. [PMID: 31121060 PMCID: PMC6771480 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Brain mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) respond to the same glucocorticoid hormones but can have differential effects on cellular function. Several lines of evidence suggest that MR-specific target genes must exist and might underlie the distinct effects of the receptors. The present study aimed to identify MR-specific target genes in the hippocampus, a brain region where MR and GR are co-localised and play a role in the stress response. Using genome-wide binding of both receptor types, we previously identified MR-specific, MR-GR overlapping and GR-specific putative target genes. We now report altered gene expression levels of such genes in the hippocampus of forebrain MR knockout (fbMRKO) mice, killed at the time of their endogenous corticosterone peak. Of those genes associated with MR-specific binding, the most robust effect was a 50% reduction in Jun dimerization protein 2 (Jdp2) mRNA levels in fbMRKO mice. Down-regulation was also observed for the MR-specific Nitric oxide synthase 1 adaptor protein (Nos1ap) and Suv3 like RNA helicase (Supv3 l1). Interestingly, the classical glucocorticoid target gene FK506 binding protein 5 (Fkbp5), which is associated with MR and GR chromatin binding, was expressed at substantially lower levels in fbMRKO mice. Subsequently, hippocampal Jdp2 was confirmed to be up-regulated in a restraint stress model, posing Jdp2 as a bona fide MR target that is also responsive in an acute stress condition. Thus, we show that MR-selective DNA binding can reveal functional regulation of genes and further identify distinct MR-specific effector pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa T. C. M. van Weert
- Einthoven LaboratoryDivision of EndocrinologyDepartment of MedicineLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive NeuroscienceRadboud University Medical CenterNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Jacobus C. Buurstede
- Einthoven LaboratoryDivision of EndocrinologyDepartment of MedicineLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Hetty C. M. Sips
- Einthoven LaboratoryDivision of EndocrinologyDepartment of MedicineLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Sabine Vettorazzi
- Institute of Comparative Molecular EndocrinologyUniversity of UlmUlmGermany
| | - Isabel M. Mol
- Einthoven LaboratoryDivision of EndocrinologyDepartment of MedicineLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Jakob Hartmann
- Department of PsychiatryHarvard Medical SchoolMcLean HospitalBelmontMassachusetts
| | - Stefan Prekovic
- Division of OncogenomicsOncode InstituteThe Netherlands Cancer InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Wilbert Zwart
- Division of OncogenomicsOncode InstituteThe Netherlands Cancer InstituteAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Mathias V. Schmidt
- Department of Stress Neurobiology and NeurogeneticsMax Planck Institute of PsychiatryMunichGermany
| | - Benno Roozendaal
- Department of Cognitive NeuroscienceRadboud University Medical CenterNijmegenThe Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Jan P. Tuckermann
- Institute of Comparative Molecular EndocrinologyUniversity of UlmUlmGermany
| | - R. Angela Sarabdjitsingh
- Department of Translational NeuroscienceUMC Utrecht Brain CenterUniversity Medical CenterUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Onno C. Meijer
- Einthoven LaboratoryDivision of EndocrinologyDepartment of MedicineLeiden University Medical CenterLeidenThe Netherlands
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Molendijk ML, de Kloet ER. Coping with the forced swim stressor: Current state-of-the-art. Behav Brain Res 2019; 364:1-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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9
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de Kloet ER, Meijer OC, de Nicola AF, de Rijk RH, Joëls M. Importance of the brain corticosteroid receptor balance in metaplasticity, cognitive performance and neuro-inflammation. Front Neuroendocrinol 2018; 49:124-145. [PMID: 29428549 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 147] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2017] [Revised: 01/25/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Bruce McEwen's discovery of receptors for corticosterone in the rat hippocampus introduced higher brain circuits in the neuroendocrinology of stress. Subsequently, these receptors were identified as mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) that are involved in appraisal processes, choice of coping style, encoding and retrieval. The MR-mediated actions on cognition are complemented by slower actions via glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) on contextualization, rationalization and memory storage of the experience. These sequential phases in cognitive performance depend on synaptic metaplasticity that is regulated by coordinate MR- and GR activation. The receptor activation includes recruitment of coregulators and transcription factors as determinants of context-dependent specificity in steroid action; they can be modulated by genetic variation and (early) experience. Interestingly, inflammatory responses to damage seem to be governed by a similarly balanced MR:GR-mediated action as the initiating, terminating and priming mechanisms involved in stress-adaptation. We conclude with five questions challenging the MR:GR balance hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R de Kloet
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - O C Meijer
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - A F de Nicola
- Laboratory of Neuroendocrine Biochemistry, Instituto de Biologia y Medicina Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - R H de Rijk
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands & Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
| | - M Joëls
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands.
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Shin JE, Choi CH, Lee JM, Kwon JS, Lee SH, Kim HC, Han NY, Choi SH, Yoo SY. Association between memory impairment and brain metabolite concentrations in North Korean refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188953. [PMID: 29216235 PMCID: PMC5720673 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had experiences of enormous psychological stress that can result in neurocognitive and neurochemical changes. To date, the causal relationship between them remains unclear. The present study is to investigate the association between neurocognitive characteristics and neural metabolite concentrations in North Korean refugees with PTSD. A total of 53 North Korean refugees with or without PTSD underwent neurocognitive function tests. For neural metabolite scanning, magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been conducted. We assessed between-group differences in neurocognitive test scores and metabolite levels. Additionally, a multiple regression analysis was carried out to evaluate the association between neurocognitive function and metabolite levels in patients with PTSD. Memory function, but not other neurocognitive functions, was significantly lower in the PTSD group compared with the non-PTSD group. Hippocampal N-acetylaspartate (NAA) levels were not different between groups; however, NAA levels were significantly lower in the ACC of the PTSD group than the non-PTSD group (t = 2.424, p = 0.019). The multiple regression analysis showed a negative association between hippocampal NAA levels and delayed recall score on the auditory verbal learning test (β = -1.744, p = 0.011) in the non-PTSD group, but not in the PTSD group. We identified specific memory impairment and the role of NAA levels in PTSD. Our findings suggest that hippocampal NAA has a protective role in memory impairment and development of PTSD after exposure to traumatic events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jung Eun Shin
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Chi-Hoon Choi
- Department of Radiology, Chungbuk National University Hospital, Cheongju, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Min Lee
- Computational NeuroImage Analysis Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Soo Kwon
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine in SNU-MRC, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - So Hee Lee
- Department of Psychiatry, National Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Chung Kim
- Department of Psychiatry, National Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Na Young Han
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo-Hee Choi
- Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.,Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Human Behavioral Medicine in SNU-MRC, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - So Young Yoo
- Department of Psychiatry, National Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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11
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Joëls M, de Kloet ER. 30 YEARS OF THE MINERALOCORTICOID RECEPTOR: The brain mineralocorticoid receptor: a saga in three episodes. J Endocrinol 2017. [PMID: 28634266 DOI: 10.1530/joe-16-0660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
In 1968, Bruce McEwen discovered that 3H-corticosterone administered to adrenalectomised rats is retained in neurons of hippocampus rather than those of hypothalamus. This discovery signalled the expansion of endocrinology into the science of higher brain regions. With this in mind, our contribution highlights the saga of the brain mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in three episodes. First, the precloning era dominated by the conundrum of two types of corticosterone-binding receptors in the brain, which led to the identification of the high-affinity corticosterone receptor as the 'promiscuous' MR cloned in 1987 by Jeff Arriza and Ron Evans in addition to the classical glucocorticoid receptor (GR). Then, the post-cloning period aimed to disentangle the function of the brain MR from that of the closely related GR on different levels of biological complexity. Finally, the synthesis section that highlights the two faces of brain MR: Salt and Stress. 'Salt' refers to the regulation of salt appetite, and reciprocal arousal, motivation and reward, by a network of aldosterone-selective MR-expressing neurons projecting from nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and circumventricular organs. 'Stress' is about the limbic-forebrain nuclear and membrane MRs, which act as a switch in the selection of the best response to cope with a stressor. For this purpose, activation of the limbic MR promotes selective attention, memory retrieval and the appraisal process, while driving emotional expressions of fear and aggression. Subsequently, rising glucocorticoid concentrations activate GRs in limbic-forebrain circuitry underlying executive functions and memory storage, which contribute in balance with MR-mediated actions to homeostasis, excitability and behavioural adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marian Joëls
- Department of Translational NeuroscienceBrain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- University of GroningenUniversity Medical Center, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - E Ronald de Kloet
- Division of EndocrinologyDepartment of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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van Weert LTCM, Buurstede JC, Mahfouz A, Braakhuis PSM, Polman JAE, Sips HCM, Roozendaal B, Balog J, de Kloet ER, Datson NA, Meijer OC. NeuroD Factors Discriminate Mineralocorticoid From Glucocorticoid Receptor DNA Binding in the Male Rat Brain. Endocrinology 2017; 158:1511-1522. [PMID: 28324065 DOI: 10.1210/en.2016-1422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
In the limbic brain, mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) both function as receptors for the naturally occurring glucocorticoids (corticosterone/cortisol) but mediate distinct effects on cellular physiology via transcriptional mechanisms. The transcriptional basis for specificity of these MR- vs GR-mediated effects is unknown. To address this conundrum, we have identified the extent of MR/GR DNA-binding selectivity in the rat hippocampus using chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing. We found 918 and 1450 nonoverlapping binding sites for MR and GR, respectively. Furthermore, 475 loci were co-occupied by MR and GR. De novo motif analysis resulted in a similar binding motif for both receptors at 100% of the target loci, which matched the known glucocorticoid response element (GRE). In addition, the Atoh/NeuroD consensus sequence was found in co-occurrence with all MR-specific binding sites but was absent for GR-specific or MR-GR overlapping sites. Basic helix-loop-helix family members Neurod1, Neurod2, and Neurod6 showed hippocampal expression and were hypothesized to bind the Atoh motif. Neurod2 was detected at rat hippocampal MR binding sites but not at GR-exclusive sites. All three NeuroD transcription factors acted as DNA-binding-dependent coactivators for both MR and GR in reporter assays in heterologous HEK293 cells, likely via indirect interactions with the receptors. In conclusion, a NeuroD family member binding to an additional motif near the GRE seems to drive specificity for MR over GR binding at hippocampal binding sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa T C M van Weert
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jacobus C Buurstede
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ahmed Mahfouz
- Department of Radiology, Division of Image Processing, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Delft Bioinformatics Laboratory, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CD, Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Pamela S M Braakhuis
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - J Annelies E Polman
- Division of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Hetty C M Sips
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Benno Roozendaal
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Judit Balog
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - E Ronald de Kloet
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Division of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Nicole A Datson
- Division of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Onno C Meijer
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands
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de Kloet ER, Joëls M. Brain mineralocorticoid receptor function in control of salt balance and stress-adaptation. Physiol Behav 2017; 178:13-20. [PMID: 28089704 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.12.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2016] [Revised: 12/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
We will highlight in honor of Randall Sakai the peculiar characteristics of the brain mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in its response pattern to the classical mineralocorticoid aldosterone and the naturally occurring glucocorticoids corticosterone and cortisol. Neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and circumventricular organs express MR, which mediate selectively the action of aldosterone on salt appetite, sympathetic outflow and volume regulation. The MR-containing NTS neurons innervate limbic-forebrain circuits enabling aldosterone to also modulate reciprocally arousal, motivation, fear and reward. MR expressed in abundance in this limbic-forebrain circuitry, is target of cortisol and corticosterone in modulation of appraisal processes, memory performance and selection of coping strategy. Complementary to this role of limbic MR is the action mediated by the lower affinity glucocorticoid receptors (GR), which promote subsequently memory storage of the experience and facilitate behavioral adaptation. Current evidence supports the hypothesis that an imbalance between MR- and GR-mediated actions compromises resilience and adaptation to stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edo Ronald de Kloet
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Marian Joëls
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands; University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands
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Bocian R, Caban B, Kłos-Wojtczak P, Konopacki J, Kowalczyk T. Is electrical coupling involved in the generation of posterior hypothalamic theta rhythm? Eur J Neurosci 2016; 44:2324-33. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Revised: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 07/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Renata Bocian
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143 90-236 Lodz Poland
| | - Bartosz Caban
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143 90-236 Lodz Poland
| | - Paulina Kłos-Wojtczak
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143 90-236 Lodz Poland
| | - Jan Konopacki
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143 90-236 Lodz Poland
| | - Tomasz Kowalczyk
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143 90-236 Lodz Poland
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de Kloet ER, Molendijk ML. Coping with the Forced Swim Stressor: Towards Understanding an Adaptive Mechanism. Neural Plast 2016; 2016:6503162. [PMID: 27034848 PMCID: PMC4806646 DOI: 10.1155/2016/6503162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 219] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In the forced swim test (FST) rodents progressively show increased episodes of immobility if immersed in a beaker with water from where escape is not possible. In this test, a compound qualifies as a potential antidepressant if it prevents or delays the transition to this passive (energy conserving) behavioural style. In the past decade however the switch from active to passive "coping" was used increasingly to describe the phenotype of an animal that has been exposed to a stressful history and/or genetic modification. A PubMed analysis revealed that in a rapidly increasing number of papers (currently more than 2,000) stress-related immobility in the FST is labeled as a depression-like phenotype. In this contribution we will examine the different phases of information processing during coping with the forced swim stressor. For this purpose we focus on the action of corticosterone that is mediated by the closely related mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) in the limbic brain. The evidence available suggests a model in which we propose that the limbic MR-mediated response selection operates in complementary fashion with dopaminergic accumbens/prefrontal executive functions to regulate the transition between active and passive coping styles. Upon rescue from the beaker the preferred, mostly passive, coping style is stored in the memory via a GR-dependent action in the hippocampal dentate gyrus. It is concluded that the rodent's behavioural response to a forced swim stressor does not reflect depression. Rather the forced swim experience provides a unique paradigm to investigate the mechanistic underpinning of stress coping and adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- E. R. de Kloet
- Division of Medical Pharmacology and Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, Netherlands
- Division of Endocrinology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, Netherlands
| | - M. L. Molendijk
- Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, Netherlands
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16
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Ito-Harashima S, Shiizaki K, Kawanishi M, Kakiuchi K, Onishi K, Yamaji R, Yagi T. Construction of sensitive reporter assay yeasts for comprehensive detection of ligand activities of human corticosteroid receptors through inactivation of CWP and PDR genes. J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods 2015; 74:41-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vascn.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2015] [Accepted: 06/04/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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ter Heegde F, De Rijk RH, Vinkers CH. The brain mineralocorticoid receptor and stress resilience. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2015; 52:92-110. [PMID: 25459896 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2014.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 128] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2014] [Revised: 10/23/2014] [Accepted: 10/27/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Stress exposure activates the HPA-axis and results in the release of corticosteroids which bind to two receptor types in the brain: the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). While the role of the GR in stress reactivity has been extensively studied, the MR has received less attention. Nevertheless, pioneering in-depth studies over the past two decades have shown the importance of the brain MR in the processing of stressful information. Moreover, a membrane-bound MR mediating the rapid effects of cortisol was recently discovered. This review summarizes how the MR may play a role in stress resilience. Both preclinical and clinical studies suggest that the MR is an important stress modulator and influences basal as well as stress-induced HPA-axis activity, stress appraisal, and fear-related memories. These MR effects are mediated by both genomic and non-genomic MRs and appear to be at least partially sex-dependent. Moreover, the majority of studies indicate that high MR functionality or expression may confer resilience to traumatic stress. This has direct clinical implications. First, increasing activity or expression of brain MRs may prevent or reverse symptoms of stress-related depression. Second, individuals with a relatively low MR functionality may possess an increased stress susceptibility for depression. Nevertheless, the number of clinical MR studies is currently limited. In conclusion, the recent emergence of the MR as a putative stress resilience factor is important and may open up new avenues for the prevention and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Freija ter Heegde
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Roel H De Rijk
- Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Christiaan H Vinkers
- Department of Psychiatry, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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18
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Abstract
Corticosteroids secreted as end product of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis act like a double-edged sword in the brain. The hormones coordinate appraisal processes and decision making during the initial phase of a stressful experience and promote subsequently cognitive performance underlying the management of stress adaptation. This action exerted by the steroids on the initiation and termination of the stress response is mediated by 2 related receptor systems: mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs). The receptor types are unevenly distributed but colocalized in abundance in neurons of the limbic brain to enable these complementary hormone actions. This contribution starts from a historical perspective with the observation that phasic occupancy of GR during ultradian rhythmicity is needed to maintain responsiveness to corticosteroids. Then, during stress, initially MR activation enhances excitability of limbic networks that are engaged in appraisal and emotion regulation. Next, the rising hormone concentration occupies GR, resulting in reallocation of energy to limbic-cortical circuits with a role in behavioral adaptation and memory storage. Upon MR:GR imbalance, dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis occurs, which can enhance an individual's vulnerability. Imbalance is characteristic for chronic stress experience and depression but also occurs during exposure to synthetic glucocorticoids. Hence, glucocorticoid psychopathology may develop in susceptible individuals because of suppression of ultradian/circadian rhythmicity and depletion of endogenous corticosterone from brain MR. This knowledge generated from testing the balance hypothesis can be translated to a rational glucocorticoid therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Ron de Kloet
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, Leiden University and Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Leiden University Medical Center, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
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19
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Konopacki J, Bocian R, Kowalczyk T, Kłos-Wojtczak P. The electrical coupling and the hippocampal formation theta rhythm in rats. Brain Res Bull 2014; 107:1-17. [PMID: 24747291 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2014.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2014] [Revised: 04/03/2014] [Accepted: 04/08/2014] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Gap junctions (GJs) were discovered more than five decades ago, and since that time enormous strides have been made in understanding their structure and function. Despite the voluminous literature concerning the function of GJs, the involvement of these membrane structures in the central mechanisms underlying oscillations and synchrony in the neuronal network is still a matter of intensive debate. This review summarizes what is known concerning the involvement of GJs as electrical synapses in mechanisms underlying the generation of theta band oscillations. The first part of the chapter discusses the role of GJs in mechanisms of oscillations and synchrony. Following this, in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo experiments concerning the involvement of GJs in the generation of hippocampal formation theta in rats are reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Konopacki
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Lodz, Poland.
| | - Renata Bocian
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Lodz, Poland
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20
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Myers B, McKlveen JM, Herman JP. Glucocorticoid actions on synapses, circuits, and behavior: implications for the energetics of stress. Front Neuroendocrinol 2014; 35:180-196. [PMID: 24361584 PMCID: PMC4422101 DOI: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2013.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 201] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2013] [Revised: 12/02/2013] [Accepted: 12/06/2013] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Environmental stimuli that signal real or potential threats to homeostasis lead to glucocorticoid secretion by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis. Glucocorticoids promote energy redistribution and are critical for survival and adaptation. This adaptation requires the integration of multiple systems and engages key limbic-neuroendocrine circuits. Consequently, glucocorticoids have profound effects on synaptic physiology, circuit regulation of stress responsiveness, and, ultimately, behavior. While glucocorticoids initiate adaptive processes that generate energy for coping, prolonged or inappropriate glucocorticoid secretion becomes deleterious. Inappropriate processing of stressful information may lead to energetic drive that does not match environmental demand, resulting in risk factors for pathology. Thus, dysregulation of the HPA axis may promote stress-related illnesses (e.g. depression, PTSD). This review summarizes the latest developments in central glucocorticoid actions on synaptic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral regulation. Additionally, these findings will be discussed in terms of the energetic integration of stress and the importance of context-specific regulation of glucocorticoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent Myers
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - Jessica M McKlveen
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
| | - James P Herman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
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21
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Differential contribution of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors to memory formation during sleep. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2013; 38:2962-72. [PMID: 24035099 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2013] [Revised: 07/31/2013] [Accepted: 08/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Corticosteroids are known to modulate the consolidation of memories during sleep, specifically in the hippocampus-dependent declarative memory system. However, effects of the major human corticosteroid cortisol are conveyed via two different receptors, i.e., mineralocorticoid (MRs) and glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) whose specific contributions to memory consolidation are unclear. Whereas a shift in the balance between MR and GR activation toward predominant GR activation has been found to impair sleep-dependent consolidation of declarative memories, the effect of predominant MR activation is not well characterized. Here, we examined differential corticosteroid receptor contributions to memory consolidation during post-learning sleep in two placebo-controlled double-blind studies in humans, by comparing the effects of the selective MR agonist fludrocortisone (0.2 mg, orally, Study 1) and of hydrocortisone (22 mg, intravenously, Study 2) with strong binding affinity to both MR and GR. We hypothesized increased activation of MRs during sleep to enhance declarative memory consolidation, but the joint MR/GR activation to impair it. Participants (16 men in each study) learned a declarative (word pair associates) and a procedural task (mirror tracing) before a 7-h period of nocturnal retention sleep, with the substances administered before sleep (Study 1) and during sleep (Study 2), respectively. As hypothesized, retention of word pairs, but not of mirror tracing skill, was selectively enhanced by the MR agonist fludrocortisone. An impairing effect of hydrocortisone on word pair retention remained non-significant possibly reflecting that hydrocortisone administration failed to establish robust predominance of GR activation. Our results show that predominant MR activation benefits declarative memory consolidation presumably by enhancing the sleep-dependent reactivation of hippocampal memories and resultant synaptic plastic processes. The effect is counteracted by additional GR activation. Insufficient MR activation, like GR overactivation, might be a factor contributing to memory impairment in pathological conditions.
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22
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Haushofer J, Cornelisse S, Seinstra M, Fehr E, Joëls M, Kalenscher T. No effects of psychosocial stress on intertemporal choice. PLoS One 2013; 8:e78597. [PMID: 24250800 PMCID: PMC3826744 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2013] [Accepted: 09/23/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Intertemporal choices - involving decisions which trade off instant and delayed outcomes - are often made under stress. It remains unknown, however, whether and how stress affects intertemporal choice. We subjected 142 healthy male subjects to a laboratory stress or control protocol, and asked them to make a series of intertemporal choices either directly after stress, or 20 minutes later (resulting in four experimental groups). Based on theory and evidence from behavioral economics and cellular neuroscience, we predicted a bidirectional effect of stress on intertemporal choice, with increases in impatience or present bias immediately after stress, but decreases in present bias or impatience when subjects are tested 20 minutes later. However, our results show no effects of stress on intertemporal choice at either time point, and individual differences in stress reactivity (changes in stress hormone levels over time) are not related to individual differences in intertemporal choice. Together, we did not find support for the hypothesis that psychosocial laboratory stressors affect intertemporal choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Haushofer
- Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail: (JH); (SC)
| | - Sandra Cornelisse
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- * E-mail: (JH); (SC)
| | - Maayke Seinstra
- Comparative Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ernst Fehr
- Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Marian Joëls
- Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Tobias Kalenscher
- Comparative Psychology, Institute of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Swammerdam Institute of Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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23
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Chatterjee S, Sikdar SK. Corticosterone targets distinct steps of synaptic transmission via concentration specific activation of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors. J Neurochem 2013; 128:476-90. [PMID: 24117520 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.12478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2013] [Revised: 09/15/2013] [Accepted: 09/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Hippocampal neurons are affected by chronic stress and have a high density of cytoplasmic mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors (MR and GR). Detailed studies on the genomic effects of the stress hormone corticosterone at physiologically relevant concentrations on different steps in synaptic transmission are limited. In this study, we tried to delineate how activation of MR and GR by different concentrations of corticosterone affects synaptic transmission at various levels. The effect of 3-h corticosterone (25, 50, and 100 nM) treatment on depolarization-mediated calcium influx, vesicular release and properties of miniature excitatory post-synaptic currents (mEPSCs) were studied in cultured hippocampal neurons. Activation of MR with 25 nM corticosterone treatment resulted in enhanced depolarization-mediated calcium influx via a transcription-dependent process and increased frequency of mEPSCs with larger amplitude. On the other hand, activation of GR upon 100 nM corticosterone treatment resulted in increase in the rate of vesicular release via the genomic actions of GR. Furthermore, GR activation led to significant increase in the frequency of mEPSCs with larger amplitude and faster decay. Our studies indicate that differential activation of the dual receptor system of MR and GR by corticosterone targets the steps in synaptic transmission differently.
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24
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de Kloet ER. Functional profile of the binary brain corticosteroid receptor system: mediating, multitasking, coordinating, integrating. Eur J Pharmacol 2013; 719:53-62. [PMID: 23876452 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2013.04.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2013] [Revised: 03/27/2013] [Accepted: 04/03/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
This contribution is focused on the action of the naturally occurring corticosteroids, cortisol and corticosterone, which are secreted from the adrenals in hourly pulses and after stress with the goal to maintain resilience and health. To achieve this goal the action of the corticosteroids displays an impressive diversity, because it is cell-specific and context-dependent in coordinating the individual's response to changing environments. These diverse actions of corticosterone are mediated by mineralocorticoid- and glucocorticoid-receptors that operate as a binary system in concert with neurotransmitter and neuropeptide signals to activate and inhibit stress reactions, respectively. Classically MR and GR are gene transcription factors, but recently these receptors appear to mediate also rapid non-genomic actions on excitatory neurotransmission suggesting that they integrate functions over time. Hence the balance of receptor-mediated actions is crucial for homeostasis. This balanced function of mineralo- and glucocorticoid-receptors can be altered epigenetically by a history of traumatic (early) life events and the experience of repeated stressors as well as by predisposing genetic variants in signaling pathways of these receptors. One of these variants, mineralocorticoid receptor haplotype 2, is associated with dispositional optimism in appraisal of environmental challenges. Imbalance in receptor-mediated corticosterone actions was found to leave a genomic signature highlighting the role of master switches such as cAMP response element-binding protein and mammalian target of rapamycin to compromise health, and to promote vulnerability to disease. Diabetic encephalopathy is a pathology of imbalanced corticosterone action, which can be corrected in its pre-stage by a brief treatment with the antiglucocorticoid mifepristone.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R de Kloet
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research & Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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25
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Effects of psychosocial stress on episodic memory updating. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2013; 226:769-79. [PMID: 23404063 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-2998-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2012] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE When a consolidated memory is reactivated, it becomes labile and modifiable. Recently, updating of reactivated episodic memory was demonstrated by Hupbach et al. (Learn Mem 14:47-53, 2007). Memory updating involves two vital processes-reactivation followed by reconsolidation. Here, we explored effects of psychosocial stress on episodic memory updating. Based on prior research, we hypothesized that stress before reactivation or stress before reconsolidation would impair memory updating. METHODS Participants learned a set of objects (list 1) on day 1. On day 2, some participants were reminded of list 1 before learning a second set of objects (list 2). Memory for list 1 was tested on day 3. Stress was administered either before reactivation of list 1 on day 2 (exp 1) or before reconsolidation of list 1, i.e., after reactivation and learning list 2 on day 2 (exp 2). RESULTS Memory updating involves the incorporation of list 2 items into list 1 memory, contingent upon the reactivation of list 1 memory. In exp 1, the reminder groups had higher intrusions than the no-reminder groups, but contrary to our predictions, stress did not reduce this reminder effect. Stress effects were, however, found in exp 2: the reminder group that was stressed after reactivation and new learning showed fewer intrusions than the control reminder group. CONCLUSION The findings suggest that stress before reactivation does not impair memory updating but stress at the onset of reconsolidation can. Timing may determine the effects of stress on memory processing.
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26
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Kowalczyk T, Bocian R, Konopacki J. The generation of theta rhythm in hippocampal formation maintainedin vitro. Eur J Neurosci 2012; 37:679-99. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2012] [Revised: 11/09/2012] [Accepted: 11/12/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Kowalczyk
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143; 90-236; Lodz; Poland
| | - Renata Bocian
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143; 90-236; Lodz; Poland
| | - Jan Konopacki
- Department of Neurobiology; Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection; University of Lodz; Pomorska Str. No 141/143; 90-236; Lodz; Poland
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27
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Amygdalar stimulation produces alterations on firing properties of hippocampal place cells. J Neurosci 2012; 32:11424-34. [PMID: 22895724 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1108-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress is a biologically ubiquitous factor that, when perceived uncontrollable by humans and animals, can have lingering adverse effects on brain and cognitive functions. We have previously reported that rats that experienced inescapable-unpredictable stress subsequently exhibited decreased stability of firing rates of place cells in the CA1 hippocampus, accompanied by impairments in CA1 long-term synaptic potentiation and spatial memory consolidation. Because the elevated level of glucocorticoid hormones and the heightened amygdalar activity have been implicated in the emergence of stress effects on the hippocampus, we investigated whether administration of corticosterone and electrical stimulation of the amygdala can produce stress-like alterations on hippocampal place cells. To do so, male Long-Evans rats chronically implanted with tetrodes in the hippocampus and stimulating electrodes in the amygdala were placed on a novel arena to forage for randomly dispersed food pellets while CA1 place cells were monitored across two recording sessions. Between sessions, animals received either corticosterone injection or amygdalar stimulation. We found that amygdalar stimulation reliably evoked distress behaviors and subsequently reduced the pixel-by-pixel correlation of place maps across sessions, while corticosterone administration did not. Also, the firing rates of place cells between preamygdalar and postamygdalar stimulation recording sessions were pronouncedly different, whereas those between precorticosterone and postcorticosterone injection recording sessions were not. These results suggest that the heightened amygdalar activity, but not the elevated level of corticosterone per se, reduces the stability of spatial representation in the hippocampus by altering the firing rates of place cells in a manner similar to behavioral stress.
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28
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Joëls M, Sarabdjitsingh RA, Karst H. Unraveling the Time Domains of Corticosteroid Hormone Influences on Brain Activity: Rapid, Slow, and Chronic Modes. Pharmacol Rev 2012; 64:901-38. [DOI: 10.1124/pr.112.005892] [Citation(s) in RCA: 305] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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29
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Odermatt A, Kratschmar DV. Tissue-specific modulation of mineralocorticoid receptor function by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases: an overview. Mol Cell Endocrinol 2012; 350:168-86. [PMID: 21820034 DOI: 10.1016/j.mce.2011.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2011] [Revised: 07/03/2011] [Accepted: 07/09/2011] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
In the last decade significant progress has been made in the understanding of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) function and its implications for physiology and disease. The knowledge on the essential role of MR in the regulation of electrolyte concentrations and blood pressure has been significantly extended, and the relevance of excessive MR activation in promoting inflammation, fibrosis and heart disease as well as its role in modulating neuronal cell viability and brain function is now widely recognized. Despite considerable progress, the mechanisms of MR function in various cell-types are still poorly understood. Key modulators of MR function include the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which may affect MR function by formation of heterodimers and by differential genomic and non-genomic responses on gene expression, and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (11β-HSDs), which determine the availability of intracellular concentrations of active glucocorticoids. In this review we attempted to provide an overview of the knowledge on MR expression with regard to the presence or absence of GR, 11β-HSD2 and 11β-HSD1/hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PDH) in various tissues and cell types. The consequences of cell-specific differences in the coexpression of MR with these proteins need to be further investigated in order to understand the role of this receptor in a given tissue as well as its systemic impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Odermatt
- Division of Molecular and Systems Toxicology, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 50, Basel, Switzerland.
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30
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Zhou M, Bakker EH, Velzing EH, Berger S, Oitzl M, Joëls M, Krugers HJ. Both mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors regulate emotional memory in mice. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2010; 94:530-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2010.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2010] [Revised: 09/06/2010] [Accepted: 09/08/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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31
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Zhou QX, Mao RR, Duan TT, Tan JW, Tian M, Cao J, Xu L. Stress within the postseizure time window inhibits seizure recurrence. Epilepsy Behav 2010; 18:201-6. [PMID: 20493780 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2010] [Revised: 03/25/2010] [Accepted: 04/07/2010] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Recurrence is a key characteristic in the development of epilepsy. It remains unclear whether seizure recurrence is sensitive to postseizure stress. Here, tonic-clonic seizures were induced with a convulsive dose of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), and acute seizure recurrence was evoked with a subconvulsive dose of the drug. We found that stress inhibited seizure recurrence when applied 30minutes or 2hours, but not 4hours, after the tonic-clonic seizure. The time-dependent anti-recurrence effect of stress was mimicked by the stress hormone corticosterone and blocked by co-administration of mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptor antagonists. Furthermore, in a PTZ-induced epileptic kindling model, corticosterone administered 30minutes after each seizure decreased the extent of seizures both during the kindling establishment and in the following challenge test. These results provide novel insights into both the mechanisms of and therapeutic strategies for epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi-Xin Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms, Chinese Academy of Sciences & Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Anti-glucocorticoid gene therapy reverses the impairing effects of elevated corticosterone on spatial memory, hippocampal neuronal excitability, and synaptic plasticity. J Neurosci 2010; 30:1712-20. [PMID: 20130180 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4402-09.2010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Moderate release of the major stress hormones, glucocorticoids (GCs), improves hippocampal function and memory. In contrast, excessive or prolonged elevations produce impairments. Enzymatic degradation and reformation of GCs help to maintain optimal levels within target tissues, including the brain. We hypothesized that expressing a GC-degrading enzyme in hippocampal neurons would attenuate the negative impact of an excessive elevation in GC levels on synaptic physiology and spatial memory. We tested this by expressing 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (type II) in dentate gyrus granule cells during a 3 d GC treatment followed by examination of synaptic responses in hippocampal slices or spatial performance in the Morris water maze. In adrenalectomized rats with basal GC replacement, additional GC treatments for 3 d reduced synaptic strength and promoted the expression of long-term depression at medial perforant path synapses, increased granule cell and CA1 pyramidal cell excitability, and impaired spatial reference memory (without influencing learning). Expression of 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (type II), mostly in mature dentate gyrus granule cells, reversed the effects of high GC levels on granule cell and pyramidal cell excitability, perforant path synaptic plasticity, and spatial memory. These data demonstrate the ability of neuroprotective gene expression limited to a specific cell population to both locally and trans-synaptically offset neurophysiological disruptions produced by prolonged increases in circulating stress hormones. This report supplies the first physiological explanation for previously demonstrated cognitive sparing by anti-stress gene therapy approaches and lends additional insight into the hippocampal processes that are important for memory.
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Riedemann T, Patchev AV, Cho K, Almeida OFX. Corticosteroids: way upstream. Mol Brain 2010; 3:2. [PMID: 20180948 PMCID: PMC2841592 DOI: 10.1186/1756-6606-3-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2009] [Accepted: 01/11/2010] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies into the mechanisms of corticosteroid action continue to be a rich bed of research, spanning the fields of neuroscience and endocrinology through to immunology and metabolism. However, the vast literature generated, in particular with respect to corticosteroid actions in the brain, tends to be contentious, with some aspects suffering from loose definitions, poorly-defined models, and appropriate dissection kits. Here, rather than presenting a comprehensive review of the subject, we aim to present a critique of key concepts that have emerged over the years so as to stimulate new thoughts in the field by identifying apparent shortcomings. This article will draw on experience and knowledge derived from studies of the neural actions of other steroid hormones, in particular estrogens, not only because there are many parallels but also because 'learning from differences' can be a fruitful approach. The core purpose of this review is to consider the mechanisms through which corticosteroids might act rapidly to alter neural signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Therese Riedemann
- Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelin Str. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
- Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Alexandre V Patchev
- Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelin Str. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
| | - Kwangwook Cho
- Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Osborne FX Almeida
- Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Kraepelin Str. 2-10, 80804 Munich, Germany
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Rogalska J. Mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid receptors in hippocampus: their impact on neurons survival and behavioral impairment after neonatal brain injury. VITAMINS AND HORMONES 2010; 82:391-419. [PMID: 20472149 DOI: 10.1016/s0083-6729(10)82020-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Glucocorticoids (GC) exert multiple effects within the central nervous system via mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR) activation. MR expression is associated with a neuroprotective phenotype, whereas GR activation is implicated in the induction of an endangered neural phenotype and the opposite actions are most evident in hippocampus, where these receptors are predominantly present. Hippocampus has an overall inhibitory influence on the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and it has been suggested that efficient learning and adequate stress response depend on the appropriate functioning of the axis brought by coordinated activation of MR and GR in this region. There is a growing body of evidence that perinatal asphyxia causes irreversible damage to the brain leading to neurons loss in regions vulnerable to oxygen shortage especially in hippocampus. In the present review, some aspects of recently acquired insight in the role of GC receptors in promoting neuronal death and survival after hippocampal injury are discussed. Since the unbalance of MR and GR in hippocampus creates a condition of disturbed neuroendocrine regulation their potential impact on behavioral impairment will also be reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justyna Rogalska
- Department of Animal Physiology, Institute of General and Molecular Biology, N. Copernicus University, Torun, Poland
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de Kloet ER. From vasotocin to stress and cognition. Eur J Pharmacol 2009; 626:18-26. [PMID: 19837060 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2009.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2009] [Revised: 10/06/2009] [Accepted: 10/09/2009] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Sex and stress hormones coordinate experience and behaviour with physiological regulations. In the brain the sex hormones act to promote the repertoire of affiliative and reproductive behaviours. Stress hormones target in particular brain circuits underlying emotional arousal and cognition. To exert these actions the hormones operate in concert with neuropeptide secreting systems. Here I will discuss three examples of hormone action on brain and behaviour. First in the song bird manipulation of brain vasotocin promotes acquisition of a stable stereotyped song pattern. Second in mammal's central glucocorticoid feedback action, initiated and enhanced by vasopressin, is mediated by two types of nuclear receptors that operate in complementary fashion to maintain homeostasis and health. One receptor system, the mineralocorticoid receptors, activates the switch from spatial to habit learning under stressful conditions, while the stress-induced behavioural response is stored in the memory via activation of the glucocorticoid receptors. Third, genetic predisposition and early life experience program neuropeptide and glucocorticoid systems for life with the goal to match with expected future demands. Hence, a mismatch between the early imprinted response modes with later life conditions enhances vulnerability to disease. These three topics have in common that they illustrate how hormones govern plasticity of neural stress circuitry underlying complex behavioural tasks, how upon dysregulation psychiatric disorders may develop for which the individual is predisposed and how such hormone action may promote resilience still present in the diseased brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Ronald de Kloet
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research & Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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de Kloet ER, Fitzsimons CP, Datson NA, Meijer OC, Vreugdenhil E. Glucocorticoid signaling and stress-related limbic susceptibility pathway: about receptors, transcription machinery and microRNA. Brain Res 2009; 1293:129-41. [PMID: 19332027 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.03.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2008] [Accepted: 03/16/2009] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Stress is essential for health, but if coping with stress fails, the action of the stress hormones cortisol and corticosterone (CORT) becomes dysregulated, precipitating a condition favorable for increased susceptibility to psychopathology. We focus on the question how the action of CORT can change from protective to harmful. APPROACH CORT targets the limbic brain, where it affects cognitive processes and emotional arousal. The magnitude and duration of the CORT feedback signal depends on bio-availability of the hormone, the activity of the CORT receptor machinery and the stress-induced drive. If CORT action becomes dysregulated, we postulate that this is linked to compromised receptor regulation in the limbic brain's susceptibility pathway. RESULTS CORT action on gene transcription is mediated by high affinity mineralocorticoid (MR) and 10 fold lower affinity glucocorticoid (GR) receptors that also can mediate fast non-genomic actions. MR and GR operate a feedback loop that involves access and binding to the receptors, activation and shuttling of the CORT receptor complexes, which require interaction with coregulators and transcription factors for transcriptional outcome. CORT modulates the expression of gene transcripts encoding specific chaperones, motor proteins and transcription factors as well as its own receptors. The emerging evidence of microRNAs operating translational control points to further fine-tuning in receptor signaling. CONCLUSION Imbalance in MR:GR-mediated actions caused by receptor variants and epigenetic modulations have been proposed as risk factor in stress-related disease. We here provide key regulatory steps in the activation, transport and regulation of CORT receptors that may sensitize susceptibility pathways underlying psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R de Kloet
- Department of Medical Pharmacology, Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden University, PO Box 9502, 2300 RA Leiden, the Netherlands.
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Bocian R, Posłuszny A, Kowalczyk T, Gołębiewski H, Konopacki J. The effect of carbenoxolone on hippocampal formation theta rhythm in rats: In vitro and in vivo approaches. Brain Res Bull 2009; 78:290-8. [PMID: 19013505 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2008] [Revised: 10/15/2008] [Accepted: 10/16/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Abstract
Neuroendocrinology links experience and behaviour to the action of hormones. This review focusses on the corticosteroids, released in hourly pulses and after stress, to illustrate the integration of body, brain and mind achieved by these hormones. Corticosteroids coordinate cell and organ function in concert with other mediators of the stress response over time spans from seconds to hours, days, weeks, or even permanently. The actions exerted by these stress hormones are mediated by two receptor types that control initial stress reactions and manage the later adaptive phases. How the balance between the stress and adaptive responses contributes to resilience and health is a conundrum to be resolved during the next two decades of the existence of the Journal of Neuroendocrinology.
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Affiliation(s)
- E R de Kloet
- Division of Medical Pharmacology, LACDR/LUMC, Leiden, The Netherlands
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39
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Beck H, Yaari Y. Plasticity of intrinsic neuronal properties in CNS disorders. Nat Rev Neurosci 2008; 9:357-69. [DOI: 10.1038/nrn2371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 192] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Joëls M. Functional actions of corticosteroids in the hippocampus. Eur J Pharmacol 2008; 583:312-21. [PMID: 18275953 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2007.11.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2007] [Revised: 11/14/2007] [Accepted: 11/21/2007] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Corticosteroid hormones are released in high amounts after stress. The hormones enter the brain compartment and bind to high affinity mineralocorticoid receptors--particularly enriched in limbic regions--as well as to lower affinity glucocorticoid receptors which are more ubiquitous. Shortly after the stressful event, corticosteroids (in concert with specific monoamines and neuropeptides) have the potential to increase cellular excitability in subfields of the hippocampus, like the CA1 area. These effects are rapid in onset and occur via a nongenomic pathway. At the same time, however, the hormones also start slower, gene-mediated processes. These cause attenuation of excitatory information flow through the CA1 hippocampal area. Induction of long-term potentiation at that time is impaired. This may help to normalize hippocampal activity some hours after the stressful event and preserve information encoded within the context of the event. These adaptational effects of the hormones may become maladaptive if the stressful event is associated with other challenges of the network (like ischemic insults) or when stress occurs repetitively, in an uncontrollable and unpredictable manner. In that case, i) normalization of activity seems to be less efficient (particularly when other limbic areas like the amygdala nuclei are activated during stress), ii) induction of long-term potentiation is hampered at all times and iii) serotonin responses are attenuated. This may contribute to the precipitation of clinical symptoms in stress-related disorders such as major depression. A better understanding of the corticosteroid actions could lead to a more rational treatment strategy of stress-related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marian Joëls
- SILS-CNS, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 320, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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41
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Su TP, Shukla K, Gund T. Steroid binding at sigma receptors: CNS and immunological implications. CIBA FOUNDATION SYMPOSIUM 2007; 153:107-13; discussion 113-6. [PMID: 1963396 DOI: 10.1002/9780470513989.ch6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The sigma receptor has been suggested to be the mediator of the psychomimetic effects induced by certain benzomorphan opioids and phencyclidine. Potent sigma receptor ligands include haloperidol and other 'atypical' potential antipsychotic drugs. The sigma receptor is found in the central nervous system and also in the immune and endocrine systems. Gonadal and adrenal steroids such as progesterone, testosterone, deoxycorticosterone and corticosterone were found to be competitive inhibitors of binding of the sigma receptor ligand [3H] d-SKF-10,047. The sigma receptor is not the traditionally recognized cytosolic progesterone receptor and is found in crude membrane fractions. Results from molecular modelling using geometric fitting and electrostatic potential calculations suggested that the molecular skeleton of steroid hormones shares common features with prototypic sigma ligands such as d-SKF-10,047 and that the oxygen of the C-20 carbonyl group on these steroids may represent a critical 'pharmacophore' for their interactions with sigma receptors. Comparison of the affinities of steroids at sigma receptors with their efficacies is an anti-inflammatory test yielded a striking qualitative correlation. Taken Taken together these results suggest that sigma receptors may mediate certain aspects of steroid-induced mental disturbances and alterations in immune function.
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Affiliation(s)
- T P Su
- National Institute on Drug Abuse, Addiction Research Centre, Baltimore, MD 21224
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42
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Setiawan E, Jackson MF, MacDonald JF, Matthews SG. Effects of repeated prenatal glucocorticoid exposure on long-term potentiation in the juvenile guinea-pig hippocampus. J Physiol 2007; 581:1033-42. [PMID: 17412773 PMCID: PMC2170854 DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2006.127381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Synthetic glucocorticoids (sGCs) are routinely used to treat women at risk of preterm labour to promote fetal lung maturation. There is now strong evidence that exposure to excess glucocorticoid during periods of rapid brain development has permanent consequences for endocrine function and behaviour in the offspring. Prenatal exposure to sGC alters the expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA-R) subunits in the fetal and neonatal hippocampus. Given the integral role of the NMDA-R in synaptic plasticity, we hypothesized that prenatal sGC exposure will have effects on hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) after birth. Further, this may occur in either the presence or absence of elevated cortisol concentrations, in vitro. Pregnant guinea-pigs were injected with betamethasone (Beta, 1 mg kg(-1)) or vehicle on gestational days (gd) 40, 41, 50, 51, 60 and 61 (term approximately 70 days), a regimen comparable to that given to pregnant women. On postnatal day 21, LTP was examined at Schaffer collateral synapses in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices prepared from juvenile animals exposed to betamethasone or vehicle, in utero. Subsequently, the acute glucocorticoid receptor (GR)- and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR)-dependent effects of cortisol (0.1-10 microM; bath applied 30 min before LTP induction) were examined. There was no effect of prenatal sGC treatment on LTP under basal conditions. The application of 10 microM cortisol depressed excitatory synaptic transmission in all treatment groups regardless of sex. Similarly, LTP was depressed by 10 microM cortisol in all groups, with the exception of Beta-exposed females, in which LTP was unaltered. Hippocampal MR and GR protein levels were increased in Beta-exposed females, but not in any other prenatal treatment group. This study reveals sex-specific effects of prenatal exposure to sGC on LTP in the presence of elevated cortisol, a situation that would occur in vivo during stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Setiawan
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada
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43
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Rozeboom AM, Akil H, Seasholtz AF. Mineralocorticoid receptor overexpression in forebrain decreases anxiety-like behavior and alters the stress response in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104:4688-93. [PMID: 17360585 PMCID: PMC1838662 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0606067104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 158] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Although numerous stress-related molecules have been implicated in vulnerability to psychiatric illness, especially major depression and anxiety disorders, the role of the brain mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in stress, depression, and affective function is not well defined. MR is a steroid hormone receptor that detects circulating glucocorticoids with high affinity and has been primarily implicated in controlling their basal level and circadian rhythm. To specifically address the role of MR in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and anxiety-related behaviors, we generated transgenic mice with increased levels of MR in the forebrain (MRov mice) by using the forebrain-specific calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II alpha promoter to direct expression of MR cDNA. A mild but chronic elevation in forebrain MR results in decreased anxiety-like behavior in both male and female transgenic mice. Female MRov mice also exhibit a moderate suppression of the corticosterone response to restraint stress. Increased forebrain MR expression alters the expression of two genes associated with stress and anxiety, leading to a decrease in the hippocampal glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and an increase in serotonin receptor 5HT-1a, consistent with the decreased anxiety phenotype. These data suggest that the functions of forebrain MR may overlap with GR in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis regulation, but they dissociate significantly from GR in the modulation of affective responses, with GR overexpression increasing anxiety-like behavior and MR overexpression dampening it. These findings point to the importance of the MR:GR ratio in the control of emotional reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Huda Akil
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Audrey F. Seasholtz
- *Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program and
- Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- To whom correspondence should be addressed at:
University of Michigan, Basic Science Research Building, MBNI, 109 Zina Pitcher Place, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2200. E-mail:
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44
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Gołebiewski H, Eckersdorf B, Konopacki J. Electrical coupling underlies theta rhythm in freely moving cats. Eur J Neurosci 2006; 24:1759-70. [PMID: 16965552 DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2006.04993.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The role of gap junction coupling in the generation of theta rhythms in freely moving cats was investigated in a present study. Two gap junction blockers, carbenoxolone and quinine, were administered intraperitoneally and intrahippocampally; both gap junction blockers abolished or diminished (respectively) hippocampal formation theta. The inhibitory effect developed approximately 30 min after drug administration. This effect was found to be reversible. Our results provide the first direct in vivo evidence for the contribution of gap junction communication in mechanisms of neural synchrony, underlying the production of theta in in vivo conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henryk Gołebiewski
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Łódź, Łódź, 90-222, Rewolucji 1905 no. 66, Poland
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45
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Han F, Ozawa H, Matsuda KI, Nishi M, Kawata M. Colocalization of mineralocorticoid receptor and glucocorticoid receptor in the hippocampus and hypothalamus. Neurosci Res 2005; 51:371-81. [PMID: 15740800 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2004.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2004] [Revised: 11/09/2004] [Accepted: 12/08/2004] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the distribution and colocalization pattern of the two corticosteroid receptors, mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR), in the hippocampus and hypothalamus, the main target regions of corticosterone in the rat brain, using double immunofluorescence histochemistry in conjunction with specific polyclonal antibodies against MR and GR. In the hippocampus, MR- and GR-immunoreactivity (ir) were colocalized in CA1 and CA2 pyramidal neurons and granule cells of the dentate gyrus, while only MR-ir was seen in the CA3 pyramidal neurons. Colocalization of MR- and GR-ir was also observed in the parvocellular region, but not in the magnocellular region of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Subcellular distribution of MR-ir was more cytoplasmic in comparison with that of GR-ir, while the ratio of cytoplasmic to nuclear distribution of these receptors was different among the regions. After adrenalectomy (ADX), the distribution pattern of both receptors was changed to cytoplasmic, although the degree of the change of distribution was different among each region. Replacement of corticosterone after ADX recovered the distribution pattern to that of the sham-operated animals. These results suggest that the balance of MR and GR in the cell underlies the potential regulation of corticosteroid through the hippocampus and hypothalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Han
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kawaramachi Hirokoji, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan
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46
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Diamond DM, Park CR, Campbell AM, Woodson JC. Competitive interactions between endogenous LTD and LTP in the hippocampus underlie the storage of emotional memories and stress-induced amnesia. Hippocampus 2005; 15:1006-25. [PMID: 16086429 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.20107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This speculative review serves two purposes. First, it as an extension of the ideas we developed in a previous review (Diamond et al., Hippocampus, 2004;14:281-291), and second, it is a rebuttal to Abraham's (Hippocampus, 2004;14:675-676) critique of that review. We had speculated on the functional significance of the finding that post-training LTP induction produces retrograde amnesia. We noted the similarities between the findings that strong tetanizing stimulation can produce LTP and retrograde amnesia, and that a strong emotional experience can produce a long-lasting memory and retrograde amnesia, as well. The commonalities between LTP induction and emotional learning provided the basis of our hypothesis that an emotional experience generates endogenous LTD/depotentiation, which reverses synaptic plasticity formed during previous learning experiences, and endogenous LTP, which underlies the storage of new information. Abraham raised several concerns with our review, including the criticism that our speculation "falters because there is no evidence that stress causes LTD or depotentiation," and that research on stress and hippocampus has "failed to report any LTP-like changes." Abraham's points are well-taken because stress, in isolation, does not appear to generate long-lasting changes in baseline measures of hippocampal excitability. Here, within the context of a reply to Abraham's critique, we have provided a review of the literature on the influence of stress, novelty, fear conditioning, and the retrieval of emotional memories on cognitive and physiological measures of hippocampal functioning. An emphasis of this review is our hypothesis that endogenous forms of depotentiation, LTD and LTP are generated only when arousing experiences occur in conjunction with memory-related activation of the hippocampus and amygdala. We conclude with speculation that interactions among the different forms of endogenous plasticity underlie a form of competition by synapses and memories for access to retrieval resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Diamond
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
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47
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van Riel E, van Gemert NG, Meijer OC, Joëls M. Effect of early life stress on serotonin responses in the hippocampus of young adult rats. Synapse 2004; 53:11-9. [PMID: 15150736 DOI: 10.1002/syn.20033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we investigated the effects of early life stress on several aspects of serotonin (5-HT) transmission in hippocampus, later on in life. Three-day-old rats were subjected to 24-hour maternal deprivation or control treatment. Maternal deprivation is known to activate the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, resulting in increased corticosterone levels at a time-point in life when the axis is particularly insensitive to most stressful stimuli. When these animals had matured to 3 months of age, functional responses to 5-HT as well as 5-HT1A-receptor mRNA expression were examined. Also, indices for hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal function were studied in the adult state, including hippocampal mRNA expression for the mineralocorticoid and the glucocorticoid receptor. Resting membrane potential of CA1 pyramidal neurons was significantly depolarized in animals earlier subjected to maternal deprivation compared to the controls. Despite this depolarized resting potential, hyperpolarizing responses induced by 5-HT in CA1 pyramidal neurons from deprived compared to non-deprived rats were attenuated. This attenuation in 5-HT response was not accompanied by changes in mRNA expression of the 5-HT1A-receptor. Maternal deprivation was not found to change any of the neuroendocrine parameters investigated once animals had matured. We conclude that maternal deprivation can alter specific aspects of hippocampal 5-HT transmission later on in life, possibly by post-translational modification of the 5-HT1A-receptor or changes in the 5-HT1A-receptor signal transduction pathway.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Animals, Newborn
- Electrophysiology
- Female
- Hippocampus/drug effects
- Hippocampus/metabolism
- In Situ Hybridization
- Male
- Maternal Deprivation
- Membrane Potentials/drug effects
- Membrane Potentials/physiology
- Neurons/drug effects
- Neurons/physiology
- Organ Culture Techniques
- RNA, Messenger/analysis
- Rats
- Rats, Wistar
- Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A/biosynthesis
- Receptors, Glucocorticoid/drug effects
- Receptors, Glucocorticoid/metabolism
- Receptors, Mineralocorticoid/drug effects
- Receptors, Mineralocorticoid/metabolism
- Serotonin/metabolism
- Serotonin/pharmacology
- Stress, Psychological/physiopathology
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Affiliation(s)
- Els van Riel
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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48
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Jahromi SS, Wentlandt K, Piran S, Carlen PL. Anticonvulsant actions of gap junctional blockers in an in vitro seizure model. J Neurophysiol 2002; 88:1893-902. [PMID: 12364515 DOI: 10.1152/jn.2002.88.4.1893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Gap junctions (gjs) are increasingly recognized as playing a significant role in seizures. We demonstrate that different types of gap junctional blocking agents reduce the duration of evoked seizure-like primary afterdischarges (PADs) in the rat in vitro CA1 hippocampal pyramidal region, following repetitive tetanization of the Schaffer collaterals. Intracellular acidosis, which is known to block gap junctional communication, decreased the PADs, whereas alkalinization increased the PADs. Cellular excitability was not significantly depressed as determined by input/output relations recorded before and during perfusion of the gj blockers blockers carbenoxolone and sodium propionate. There was a small decrease following 1-octanol perfusion and a large decrease following NH(4)Cl application. Carbenoxolone diminished PAD duration, but increased neuronal excitability in whole-cell recordings. After robust PADs were established, the expression of several gj proteins including connexins (Cxs) 26, 32, 36, and 43, as measured by Western blotting, was unchanged, although the level of nonphosphorylated Cx43 was decreased. Our data support the concept that blocking gap junctional communication is an anticonvulsant mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shokrollah S Jahromi
- Toronto Western Research Institute, Division of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University Health Network, Canada.
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49
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Abstract
Stress is a biologically significant factor that, by altering brain cell properties, can disturb cognitive processes such as learning and memory, and consequently limit the quality of human life. Extensive rodent and human research has shown that the hippocampus is not only crucially involved in memory formation, but is also highly sensitive to stress. So, the study of stress-induced cognitive and neurobiological sequelae in animal models might provide valuable insight into the mnemonic mechanisms that are vulnerable to stress. Here, we provide an overview of the neurobiology of stress memory interactions, and present a neural endocrine model to explain how stress modifies hippocampal functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeansok J Kim
- Department of Psychology and Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8205, USA.
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50
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Abstract
Ion transport in epithelia is regulated by a variety of hormonal and nonhormonal factors, including mineralocorticoids, insulin, shear stress and osmotic pressure. In mammals, the mineralocorticoid aldosterone is the principal regulator of sodium homeostasis and hence is central to the control of extracellular fluid volume and blood pressure. Aldosterone acts through a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), to control the transcriptional activity of specific target genes. Recently, a serine/threonine kinase, SGK1 (serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase isoform 1) was identified as a candidate mediator of aldosterone action in the colon and distal nephron. The aldosterone-activated MR increases SGK1 gene transcription and SGK1, in turn, strongly stimulates the activity of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC). Interestingly, other factors appear to regulate SGK1 gene expression and kinase activity. Insulin, for example, stimulates SGK1 activity (but not gene transcription) through its effects on phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase and osmotic shock appears to stimulate both SGK1 activity and gene transcription. Hence, SGK1 might integrate the effects of multiple hormonal and nonhormonal regulators of Na(+) transport in tight epithelia and thereby play a key role in volume homeostasis. It is interesting to speculate that SGK1 might be implicated in medical conditions, such as the insulin resistance syndrome, hypertension and congestive heart failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Pearce
- Division of Nephrology, Dept of Medicine, Box 0532, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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